The French wine industry has gone through turbulent years, with trade wars, tariffs, and shifting demand. At the same time, tourists and wine-lovers from all over the world make pilgrimages to Paris to indulge in its more than 200 wine bars, and niche natural wine-makers are thriving. Is the French wine industry going through a shift from quantity to quality?

On June 30, the AAPA hosted the award-winning wine journalist Alicia Dorey for a lovely lunch at the venerable Willi’s Wine Bar, to discuss the future of French wine. Alicia Dorey, the editorial director of Figaro Vin and recently named Wine Journalist of the Year, is the author of Les 100 vins nature qui ne vous déçevront jamais, the Paris ambassador for Star Wine List, and the host of the weekly podcast Parlons Vin, which has reached over one million listens. She told us that, despite the hardships of the wider wine industry, “there has never been a better time to drink wine in France.”